‘Guardians of the Galaxy’ Casting Rumors: Jason Momoa as Drax

Jason Momoa starred in the comic book adaptation of Conan, but poor critical reception and a low box office take doomed his chance at reprising the role. With Arnold Schwarzenegger eyeing a return to the franchise that kicked off his career, Momoa is looking for another franchise to lock onto.

That franchise will be Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy.

Isaiah Mustafa, Brian Patrick Wade and former WWE star Dave Bautista were all up for the role, but once Momoa auditioned for the part, James Gunn cast the second actor for his movie. It looks like Conan will be trading in his loincloth for green skin and a big pair of knives.

Drax used to be a human saxophonist named Art Douglas, but he and his wife were killed by Thanos while driving in the Mojave desert. The death of his wife already gave Drax an axe to grind, but Thanos also kidnapped his daughter and hands her over to his father Mentor. Meanwhile, another God named Kronos brings Art back as Drax complete with superhuman strength, energy blasts from his hands and the ability to fly (including in space), in order to kill Thanos, which is helpful because he can sense the villain’s presence across space.

Jason Mamoa joins the cast of Guardians of the Galaxy alongside Chris Pratt, who took the role of the movie’s lead character Peter Quill, also known as Star-Lord. Rumors have Jim Carrey and Adam Sandler also up for roles, possibly for the movie’s CGI characters of Rocket Raccoon and Groot.

Shawn is a film critic with 30 years of experience in print and online media. He is a former member of the Oklahoma Film Critics Circle and loves everything from critically acclaimed movies to B-level action flicks and everything in between.